The last time I saw a grown man sob and cry was when I interviewed a third generation proprietor of a small shop in Cradley Heath. He was just a few weeks away from closing his shop for good, as his business had been destroyed by the arrival of Tesco. He told me that shoppers no longer venture into the once busy High Street – they drive to Tesco, where they can park for free, and buy everthing they could ever want. Then they drive home. Why would they need to venture further afield?
For years now this Great White shark of retailers has been desperate to establish a store in Stourbridge. It acquired the Angel Triangle and proposed a complete redesign of the town and ring road to suit itself. One way or another the council was able to hold off that time.
Not long after, and with Modus to act as a stalking horse, plans were submitted to redevelop the Crown Centre white elephant with Tesco at the heart of it. The economy nosedived and Modus backed away, leaving Tesco to develop alone – and there really isn’t anything we can do about it. We will have a Tesco by the summer of 2012 – but will we have town centre to balance it out?
If the experience of Cradley Heath and other towns up and down the country are anything to go by we’ll have a dominant store and very little else. Which other store will sell everything, be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and have free parking? None. Dudley MBC has forced Tesco to levy parking charges to a minimum level, but these will be reimbursed to Tesco shoppers. So not that much of a good deal then.
Go to Google and search on ‘Tescopoly‘. There are scores of towns around the UK threatened with the same. Battles are being fought, but very few are being won; it’s almost futile for even a local authority to challenge in the courts the incredible wealth and resources of this unyeilding beast.
Once built this store will change the face of Stourbridge for ever, and perhaps to a magnitude not too dissimilar to when the ring road was constructed. Human behaviour, being what it is, will ensure it’s immediate success, but to the detriment of the rest of the town. If Tesco didn’t believe that it could take business off every other retailer in the area I don’t believe it would bother. Sure, some stores will survive: I can’t see them doing a line of £1000 bicycles, or have much in the way of Denon high end hifi equipment. But woe betide any store which relies on selling lines available in Tesco, for they’ll have more choice and at cheaper prices. The promised 400 new jobs will probably nett out much lower once lost jobs in the town are factored in.
Aesthetically, I have no objection to what I’ve seen. There will be a serious realignment of the Bell Street exit to the ringroad as this needs to be two way and accomodate all delivery vehicles. Dudley MBC should make it a condition to make this junction a top level cycle access to the town too. The subway from Enville St will be filled in and ring road pavements realigned, and I’m sure that traffic will be affected by rephasing of traffic lights to allow pedestrian crossing times. This may lead to traffic problems further afield as vehicles displace via residential areas.
I clearly have a fundamental issue with Tesco and what they have done to other towns. I’ll do my best not to use it, but many others will love it and care not one jot for the rest of the town. You have to see a grown man cry to realise the damage that this company has the power to do to people’s lives. I’ll guarantee the traders of Stourbridge will cry many a tear once this is built.
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Stourbridge to become Tescotown.
The last time I saw a grown man sob and cry was when I interviewed a third generation proprietor of a small shop in Cradley Heath. He was just a few weeks away from closing his shop for good, as his business had been destroyed by the arrival of Tesco. He told me that shoppers no longer venture into the once busy High Street – they drive to Tesco, where they can park for free, and buy everthing they could ever want. Then they drive home. Why would they need to venture further afield?
For years now this Great White shark of retailers has been desperate to establish a store in Stourbridge. It acquired the Angel Triangle and proposed a complete redesign of the town and ring road to suit itself. One way or another the council was able to hold off that time.
Not long after, and with Modus to act as a stalking horse, plans were submitted to redevelop the Crown Centre white elephant with Tesco at the heart of it. The economy nosedived and Modus backed away, leaving Tesco to develop alone – and there really isn’t anything we can do about it. We will have a Tesco by the summer of 2012 – but will we have town centre to balance it out?
If the experience of Cradley Heath and other towns up and down the country are anything to go by we’ll have a dominant store and very little else. Which other store will sell everything, be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and have free parking? None. Dudley MBC has forced Tesco to levy parking charges to a minimum level, but these will be reimbursed to Tesco shoppers. So not that much of a good deal then.
Go to Google and search on ‘Tescopoly‘. There are scores of towns around the UK threatened with the same. Battles are being fought, but very few are being won; it’s almost futile for even a local authority to challenge in the courts the incredible wealth and resources of this unyeilding beast.
Once built this store will change the face of Stourbridge for ever, and perhaps to a magnitude not too dissimilar to when the ring road was constructed. Human behaviour, being what it is, will ensure it’s immediate success, but to the detriment of the rest of the town. If Tesco didn’t believe that it could take business off every other retailer in the area I don’t believe it would bother. Sure, some stores will survive: I can’t see them doing a line of £1000 bicycles, or have much in the way of Denon high end hifi equipment. But woe betide any store which relies on selling lines available in Tesco, for they’ll have more choice and at cheaper prices. The promised 400 new jobs will probably nett out much lower once lost jobs in the town are factored in.
Aesthetically, I have no objection to what I’ve seen. There will be a serious realignment of the Bell Street exit to the ringroad as this needs to be two way and accomodate all delivery vehicles. Dudley MBC should make it a condition to make this junction a top level cycle access to the town too. The subway from Enville St will be filled in and ring road pavements realigned, and I’m sure that traffic will be affected by rephasing of traffic lights to allow pedestrian crossing times. This may lead to traffic problems further afield as vehicles displace via residential areas.
I clearly have a fundamental issue with Tesco and what they have done to other towns. I’ll do my best not to use it, but many others will love it and care not one jot for the rest of the town. You have to see a grown man cry to realise the damage that this company has the power to do to people’s lives. I’ll guarantee the traders of Stourbridge will cry many a tear once this is built.
Like this: